In the design of hoppers for bulk materials such as animal feed, the hoppers usually include discharge openings through which the bulk material passes onto conveyors. Frequently, there is uneven discharge of the material from the hopper, i.e., it has been found that too much material (a surge) is discharged at some points in time whereas too little material is discharged at other times. As a result, the uneven discharge causes an uneven delivery of material by the conveyor provided to carry the material to another location remote from the hopper.
In surge feeders, it is generally recognized that it is desirable to deliver animal feed at a uniform rate. It is, therefore, necessary to provide means associated with the hopper for assuring that the feed will be discharged onto the conveyor at a uniform rate, i.e., there will be no unbalanced flow or surges of material. Accordingly, the present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems and accomplishing one or more of the objects set forth above.